Under the Sabers is a groundbreaking narrative
detailing the complex personal challenges Army wives face,
presenting a provocative new look at Army life. Tanya Biank
goes beyond the sound bites and photo ops of military life
and shows what it is really like to be an Army wife├»┬┐┬Żfrom
hauling furniture off the rental truck by yourself at a new
duty station when your husband is in the field, to
comforting your son who wants his dad home from Afghanistan
for his fifth birthday├»┬┐┬Żshe takes readers into the hearts and
homes of today├»┬┐┬Żs military wives.

In the summer of
2002, Army wives were in the headlines after Biank, a
military reporter for the Fayetteville Observer, made
international news when she broke the story about four Army
wives who were brutally murdered by their husbands in the
span of six weeks at Fort Bragg, an Army post that is home
to the Green Berets, Airborne paratroopers, and Delta Force
commandos. By that autumn, Biank, an Army brat herself,
realized the still untold story of Army wives lay in the
ashes of that tragic and sensationalized summer. She knew
the truth├»┬┐┬Żwives were the backbone of the Army. They were
strong├»┬┐┬Żnot helpless├»┬┐┬Żand deserved more than the sugarcoating
that often accompanied their stories in the
media.

Under the Sabers tells the story of
four typical Army wives, who, in a flash, find themselves
neck-deep in extraordinary circumstances that ultimately
force them to redefine who they are as women and Army wives.
In this fascinating and meticulously researched account,
Biank takes the reader past the Army├»┬┐┬Żs gates, where everyone
has a role to play, rules are followed, discipline is
expected, perfection praised, and perception often overrides
reality. Biank explores what happens when real life collides
with Army convention.

Biank describes what it means
to be a wife and mother in a subculture that is in a
constant state of readiness for war. In this hard-hitting
and powerful book, Biank takes a close look at the
other woman├»┬┐┬Żthe Army itself├»┬┐┬Żand its impact on wives,
marriages, and home life. This story of strength and
perseverance is an eye-opener for those who have never
experienced military life and an anthem to those women who
each day live the ├»┬┐┬Żunwritten code.├»┬┐┬Ż